Mind of the Swarm
by hiddenhydra
Summary: A ghost is told to patrol a mineral patch, but finds something else instead. No flame, DELAYED


The zergling ran past the northern mountains and split up with its fellows. Soon, the zergling had no company other than the cold winds that whipped the planet. Loneliness didn't matter, nothing did except for its mission. Its mind was blank except for its mission: find resources, wait for drones, defend hatchery. It ran for ten days, stopping only to feed on the indigenous wildlife. It eventually arrived at a deserted outpost; its inhabitants were either dead or had run off. The small, dog-like creature's heightened sense of smell told it that minerals and vespene gas were nearby. Sure enough, when it rounded a supply depot, it found the geyser, still untapped, and huge crystal formations. Smelling nothing else, the zergling burrowed into the snow-caked dirt and began to wait. On the fifth night, the zergling sensed something strange in the atmosphere and rose from its burrow to see if anything had happened. Suddenly, just as it had shaken the dirt from its carapace, the southern skies grew bright. Mushroom-clouds bloomed as nukes rained down upon the zergling's former hive cluster. The zergling's mind was so overwhelmed with mental messages of pain and fire that the small creature believed that the sensations were its own. Then, as quickly as the messages came, they were gone, and so was the message stating the zerg's mission. The zergling tried to seek the overlords for commands, but found only blackness instead. It was now without purpose, and the emptiness scared it. It wailed for any zerg who would give it purpose, but got no response. The zergling slowly crawled back to its burrow and interred itself again.

Stevens slowly walked towards the ghost town, his hostile environment suit protecting him from the planet's constant winter weather. He hated his life, and the man he worked for. He had been taken to the "Camp" early on in his life. He was isolated from everyone else and forced to undergo mental and physical training. Everyday that he was at the camp, he was forced to run obstacle courses and train his telepathy. Even the tiniest slip in his abilities was punished with whippings. Stevens thought about the lashings with a smirk. He wasn't sure if his parents were alive, but didn't care much. He had outgrown all of his "childish necessities," as the head of the camp had called it. He was black-haired and handsome, and if it weren't for the war, would probably have been very popular with the ladies. It didn't matter to him. He had been raised on orders, and wouldn't live if he disobeyed one. As he neared the small town, he activated some switches in his mind, and faded away. He felt the strain of keeping the suit cloaked, but knew that survival was first.

"Well, not that anyone gives a damn whether or not I'm alive," thought Stevens. Then he said chuckled dryly, "oh, yeah, almost forgot, five million bucks down the drain." He made his way through the town, systematically searching each building. As he walked passed a small supply depot, he spotted a large vespene geyser and a mineral formation.

It was the tenth day after the destruction of its hive when the zergling felt the footsteps. Far at first, then the vibrations got closer and closer. The small zerg knew it was Terran, but didn't know how to react, what actions to take. The zergling's mind went wild, unable to decide whether to attack or to protect this Terran. The creature was still undecided when it felt the vibrations directly above it. The zergling's claw-scythes tensed, and got ready to slash should the zergling get attacked. After a brief moment of tension, the vibrations softened as the Terran moved on. The Overmind had bred its minions to be the best at everything they did, and the zergling strain was no exception. The zergling slowly pushed its oval head out of its burrow to peer at the Terran that had passed, hoping it would somehow be mentally connected with either Kerrigan or the Fernis Brood. The zergling was disappointed to find nothing, no Terran, infested or otherwise.

Stevens was just about to call in to HQ when he heard a small movement behind him. He turned around to find a small, tan, bug-like creature looking past him. Although he had had only human "missions," the insectoid's extra pair of claws, tan carapace, and webbed feet told him that it was a zergling. He walked around the creature, seeing in person what should be a dead man's sight. "Might as well see what's under the hood before I kill it," thought Stevens. Slowly, Stevens reached out with his hand and pressed it to the zergling's smooth carapace. As his suit touch the zergling's armor, Steven's mind probed into the zergling's mind. Suddenly, a thousand pictures bloomed inside the ghost's mind. Huge fleshy buildings, raging battles, and hundreds of planets filled Steven's brain. Just when he thought his mind would explode with the images, Stevens' psionic abilities reached their limit. As the images faded, Stevens felt his mind return to his own body. He had just recovered for a second when he heard the zergling move again. Instinctively, the ghost tried to cloak again but found nothing.

"Damnit," thought Stevens as the zergling rushed closer.


End file.
